Preparing for Tornadoes
Analyze your Risk
About 1,000 tornadoes occur each year in the United States, causing an average of $1.1 billion in property damage and 80 deaths. Understanding your tornado risk is the first step in preparedness and should be followed by doing what you can to be ready to act quickly should a tornado threaten and making smart choices to better protect your property when remodeling or re-roofing. Use the following map produced by IBHS to determine your tornado risk:
Develop a Plan
Now is the time to practice an emergency plan for a family or business so that there is no confusion when disaster strikes. If you don't have a plan, it is critical to develop one.
Here is information to follow when creating a disaster plan:
- Having time to seek shelter in severe weather situations is critical.
- Use a NOAA all-hazard radio that is specifically tuned to pick up warnings for your local area. This will minimize more frequent and broader warnings that may or may not apply to you.
- Become familiar with your community's severe weather warning system, and make certain every adult and teenager in your family knows what to do when a tornado "watch" or "warning" sounds.
- Study the local disaster preparedness plan.
- Decide in advance where you will take shelter (a local community shelter, your own underground storm cellar or in-residence "safe" room) and create a family or business plan.
- Identify escape routes from your home or business and designate an emergency meeting place for your family or company to reunite if you become separated. Also, establish a contact person to communicate with concerned relatives or business partners.
- If you do not have a safe room or a tornado shelter, you should identify the safest area of your home or business.
- This is usually the basement or a small interior room without windows, such as a bathroom, where you can ride out the storm.
- Be sure you can easily access this area when a tornado threatens.
- The more walls between you and the outside, the better.
- Put together an emergency kit that includes first aid supplies, a portable NOAA all-hazard radio, a flashlight, fresh batteries, basic tools, work gloves, portable lanterns, a signaling device such as an air horn, prescription medications, extra car keys, extra eyeglasses, cash and important documents such as insurance policies.
- To reduce the risk of injury from wind-borne debris and broken glass, stay away from windows and doors. Also, replace rock/gravel landscaping material with shredded bark.
- Keep trees and shrubbery trimmed. Cut weak branches and remove pine trees that could fall on your home.
- Keep exterior doors and windows closed to minimize rain and flying debris. Closing interior doors will also help to compartmentalize the structure and provide more barriers between you and the storm.
Source: ©IBHS 2012
www.disastersafety.org